Cullen Presser – Labour's Foreshore Proposals

Click for big version

Labour's submission to the Ministerial Review Panel on the Foreshore and Seabed Act is closer to the position the previous Labour Government would have taken had the political climate allowed, Michael Cullen said today.

Specifically mentioning the National Party's Iwi/Kiwi billboards, Cullen said the political climate at the time the Act was passed had not allowed interested parties to come to a consensus. He said that compromises were made then that "obviously weren't, and are still not, acceptable to Maori".

Labour's proposed changes to the Act would allow Maori to apply for customary title, but not to convert that to freehold title, and consequently to sell it.

In what was likely Cullen's last press conference for Labour, he said the Act is much misunderstood - attacked more than read. He spoke in some detail about the Ngati Apa ruling and the recent Ngati Porou agreement.

He said there needs to be certainty about what customary title actually means so Iwi and Hapu won't have to engage in expensive legal cases to determine it.

• Scoop Audio: PM's Post-Cabinet Presser 20/04/09

Click for big version

Need free podcasting software? Check out:
Juice open source cross platform application(formerly ipodder) or the popular Apple itunes cross platform application.

© Scoop Media